It is the small thing in life that often slip us by and without writing it down, it is easy to forget the grace of God and often , we asked why is God not pouring more blessing to us. Yesterday, on our way home, I saw a large coin that resembles 50 cents but when I picked it up, it was one yuan (renminbi) or equivalent to 20 cent. Could it be God knew we are heading there next month and he decided to give us some favours? Thank you Lord for the pleasant surprise.

Today, my son picked 10 cents and he was starting to feel lucky much to the disappointment of his sister. Today, I attended the church service and walk away with a renewed sense of hope and encouragement. The storms will go through and we land safely on dry ground, said the pastor.

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”Luke 1:30-31

God knew my situation and my fear, anxieties and concerns. It is like revisiting an old place, a place that I had faint memories about but as I go through the path daily, bits and pieces of memories came back to me. Is this what they called experience? In a way, I felt like Mary in the bible verse, one of old age and pass the time to give birth and yet God chosen her to conceive. Don't we all in some ways resemble Mary as well? We feel we are past the age to do this or that, that we lack the resources, the network ,etc yet God looks beyond all these. If he has chosen the person, he will equip the person with the supernatural gifts. Our job then is to trust, to trust completely in HIM and have no doubts. .

Lord,I may not what you have in mind for me, the picking of one coin here and one coin there - what was the message you want me to learn? Patience? Start small but think big ? Timing is not ripe yet, huh? Often, I remind myself to be still, to keep calm and God is in control yet some times, I panic and I am in tears at night. I can't help feeling that I had let down my wife and family, that they could have a better standard of living if .................

I know God, I should not be saying all these, I am just afraid and I need you, need your words and encouragement and your love. Sometimes, I felt you are so distant and I felt lonely as if you are gone to a far away place and I had no one to really talk to......I am in the dark , like a child trembling and crying for help .......'

Send your angels to protect me from harm, harmful, negative thoughts of envy, self -doubt, frustration, anger, etc . Take them away all at once by the roots and let it not propagate in my mind again. Change me , oh Lord in ways beyond my imagination, let me be bold and courageous and like David, arm with your words ,I can use whatever resources provided to beat the gigantic Goliath in my life.

I know you would never forsake me nor leave me. I know too that your words would never return to you void. Strengthen me and pull me through this process and ends up victoriously that I may not boast it is my effort but to your glory I would uphold and praise you day, noon and night. Thank you Lord.

Last Monday, as usual, I was taking my son to school. We were almost near to his school and there was this narrow path that we need to take. Suddenly, I saw a shiny 20 cent coin on the grass patch. Without hesitation, I picked it up and took this opportunity to educate my son about God's promise.

He was surprised because he saw it too and I supposed that goes to the throngs of people that walked passed too. Why didn't they pick it up, I wondered, not once but many times? Could it be they were too shy, can't be bothered with small change like this or fail to see it ?

The reason does not matter, I guess since I won't know it from them. It is through God's grace that he wanted me to have it and I had it indeed in my pocket. I kept a box in the house and shared with my two kids that each time either of us pick any amount of money, it goes into this God's coin box. The kids were keeping count who got more.

More importantly, I wanted them to know God's promises never fail, it will come and our job is to keep on believing it. How it happened and when it happened is God's work, something much higher than us. We just take care of the "what" do we want part of the deal. Even the "what" I want in life posed as a daunting task to many people.

They may be in trouble of any kind, relationship, money or health but asked them what they want, they still cannot provide a clear answer but continue to whine about the unfortunate state they are in.

I particularly like this verse - But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do. James 1.25lThe important messages in this verse are

1. Perfect law - this is the law of liberty one the when abides will liberate us from our situation. 2. Continuity - Believing it once is not enough, we are creatures of habits, we returned to our former self the minute we are not conscious of our new behaviour. We need to continue believing regardless of the situation we see3. doers of the words - merely listening to the words of God but lack practice (works of faith) is enacting this bible verse - Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1.23-24Faith in God's work is not the same as physically performing the task. If a person is financially behind, getting dressed up, driving a nice car but lacking the change of mindset that he is rich is nothing but a transient act of folly, an act that will soon diminish as soon as his money runs out to support his act. The action (hardware) must be aligned with the mind (software).

I have always believe I am blessed by God and will keep on picking up money. My goal is a ten dollar note and I am certain, without a shadow of doubt, it is in my possession. The time for it to manifest in my material world depends on the intensity of my faith and the timing of God. I need to be patient and listen for his signs and wonders. Could he wanted me to have more, many times more than just ten dollars?

Maybe, picking up money may not sounds like your cup of tea ! Choose something else that you like and pray for it and then watch it unfolds right in front of you. Write down your experience like I do and soon your confidence will grow, your hunger for his words will increase and bigger blessings will come to your life.

Sometimes, when opportunity strikes, one has to accept it especially one that is graced by God. Recently, met a christian brother through a good friend introduction. One thing lead to another and before we know, we are in a partnership of sort. Our role is to help a company to market their products to the corporate business as well as help identify possible export business opportunities. This project I take it on seriously as I believe I would learn a lot from it.

This divine intervention is the first of its kind for me and I am learning how to manage it carefully. Memories flow back about how I first started my organic food business. Wow, that was nearly 10 years ago. Wonder if this is a sign by God to resurrect what I had previously left off. I was reminded of this bible verse - To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61.3

My daughter got her wish fulfilled again! This time, it was 0.10 that she found. On her way to school, she was again asking me why no money, in her own words. I kept assuring her that the money is already here, she just had to be patient, trust God fully and he will in no time show her the money. Kids are innocent and they believe you. And because they choose to believe, they often get what they wanted.

I reflected, why can't adults be the same? We said we wanted this or that but we planted seeds our doubts along the way and wonder why the promise of God did not come.

24Now Thomas (also known as Didymus ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:24-29

Are we not like Thomas in many circumstances? We need see with our own eyes, the concrete evidence before we believe it is real. When we have doubts ,there is no peace in our hearts. We questioned its existence, we feel uncomfortable holding on to something imaginary, a sense of insecurity swells within us. We need something to hold on to, to grasp its physical element before we could convince ourselves it truly exists.

Jesus said those who believed and have not seen are blessed. It requires a strong faith and loyalty to the unseen reality. I trust my Lord that my debts are cleared, my financial situation has improved and all my financial goals are fulfilled. My mountains shall be cast into the sea!

Father, help me to continue be a good influence to my daughter, help me to stay strong fighter the war of doubt that haunts me every now and then, take it away this dark shield and replace it with peace instead. Plant signs and wonders in my journey, bring the right people at the right time for my business and weed out those that stands in the way. Give me wisdom like you given to King Solomon that I may know the difference between right and wrong.

They say money would not drop from the sky, oh really? Guess I was lucky again! A few days ago, after sending my son to school, I was on my way home. As usual, I took the route that has the least crowd. After walking past the block, I thought I saw something glittering in the drain which I suspect was a gold coin. I put on my glasses and true enough, it was a one dollar gold coin. Immediately, my reaction was to bend down and pick it up.

Of course, I was elated with the new found fortune.

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Proverbs 13.11. I meditate on this verse and wondered why did God not give me a bigger amount but break it down into notes and coins. Could this verse serve any meaning ? Wealth gained hastily - does not refers to buying the lottery which would result in a big windfall ? Hmmmm...

There seems to be all sorts of saying out there in the market when one does not attain financial prosperity, such as :

1. God has given you abundance in other areas like health, career so it is fair that money is taken away from you.2. Time is not ripe yet3. You did not pray for it.

Maybe, my prayers are lacking in this aspect or it could be my limiting beliefs though I am much more open now than before. Nevertheless, I am confident that my big windfall is here and my job is to continue believing in his words and let HIM decide the timing.

Such is the power of God, he can provides it to us in exponential basis instead of incremental and in ways that are beyond our imagination. Recently, I was introduced to another Christian brother and we seem to get along well and seems likely to go into some partnership for doing business together. I am a little fearful based on my past experience.

We took our daughter to the hospital yesterday as she had difficulty getting the fishbone out from her throat. First, we tried giving her more solid food from bread with peanut butter to drinking more water, then we get her to rest, thinking it may gets better over time. She was teary and that really tears out hearts apart.

After a short while, we decided to take her to the hospital. First, we went to Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital and after payment and waiting for nearly 1 hour, a nurse rushed out to say that their equipment for removing fish bones is suitable only for children above 16 years old. I was shocked that such simple answers took so long to be reverted to the patient. Shouldn't the doctor who first took the blood pressure and all have such information available? Why let the patient wait for 1 hour in pain only to realise that the equipment is not suitable and waste precious time to proceed to KK hospital for another 4 hours wait?

Of course, we are grateful to the doctor at KK hospital who was so personable and able to put my daughter at ease. The whole experience was short and pain-free. Thank you Doctor!

On the other hand, Khoo Teck Phuat hospital has to reflect on the following:

1. Why is such basic pertinent information like equipment for removing fish bone not suitable for children below 16 years old not disseminated at the first level of checks by the respective doctor or nurses?2. Can the staff be trained in the proper procedure of refund?3. An apology would be nice to the patient/family and not treat patients as if it is their bad luck to wait and leave them with no choice?

Bad service, once experienced leave a bad after taste and one that stays for a long time before a service recovery takes place.

We were supposed to do our weekly run yesterday but we missed it. So my son woke me up this morning at about 8am and reminded me. With a little struggle, I managed to get up and follow him for the run. Although he was not as high spirited as last week, he still managed to clock 1km. But what made me most proud of him was not the run itself but rather keeping to the weekly commitment for the run.And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6.9

If I scale up the issue higher, it was more than the run and the commitment to run but my vision of living to 120 years old. I desired to attend both my son and his children's wedding. Would this extra run for the week not help me to achieve this goal? If the answer is clear, then I must keep to it and not give up easily. Thank you son for educating your dad on this important aspect.

Why do we sometimes not able to keep to our words or break the promise? Simply put, we had put other things that we want to do as a higher priority over what we need to do on this matter. All reasons given are mere excuses to make oneself feel less guilty.

Lord , you have demonstrated in your works that being loyal to the unseen reality is an integral part of faith keeping and believing the words in the scripture. You have used different people and things that I would encounter to strengthen my faith and keep me from falling into the cracks. Thank you Lord.